Tubevra

An unofficial YouTube TV (Leanback, youtube.com/tv) client built with Electron and TypeScript for Windows, macOS and Linux.

Still in early development.

Currently, the application supports TV Mode. An additional Desktop Mode, using the standard YouTube interface (youtube.com), is planned for the future.

Features

• Adblock — blocks ads in YouTube TV. Shorts ads are not yet supported.

• SponsorBlock — automatically skips sponsor segments in YouTube TV; disabled by default. Uses SponsorBlock data from https://sponsor.ajay.app/.

• Return YouTube Dislike — estimated likes/dislikes in a local TV panel; disabled by default. Data source.

Run

You'll need Node.js 22.13.0 or newer and npm. From the project directory:

npm install
npm start

Build

Build on the target operating system. package creates an application folder; make also creates the formats below, including a portable ZIP.

System / architecture	Application folder	Installers + portable	Formats
Windows x64	npm run package -- --platform=win32 --arch=x64	npm run make -- --platform=win32 --arch=x64	Setup (EXE) + ZIP
Windows arm64	npm run package -- --platform=win32 --arch=arm64	npm run make -- --platform=win32 --arch=arm64	Setup (EXE) + ZIP
macOS Universal (Intel + Apple Silicon)	npm run package -- --platform=darwin --arch=universal	npm run make -- --platform=darwin --arch=universal	DMG + ZIP
Linux x64	npm run package -- --platform=linux --arch=x64	npm run make -- --platform=linux --arch=x64	DEB + RPM + ZIP
Linux arm64	npm run package -- --platform=linux --arch=arm64	npm run make -- --platform=linux --arch=arm64	DEB + RPM + ZIP

Build DEB/RPM on Linux (native, WSL2, VM or CI) with dpkg, fakeroot, rpmbuild and zip in PATH. Build macOS Universal and DMG on macOS; only ad-hoc signing is configured, without an Apple Developer ID certificate or notarization.

• Application folders: out/Tubevra-<platform>-<arch>/.
• Installers: out/make/nsis/<arch>/, out/make/dmg/<arch>/, out/make/deb/<arch>/ and out/make/rpm/<arch>/.
• Portable ZIPs: out/make/zip/<platform>/<arch>/. Extract and run Tubevra.exe (Windows), Tubevra.app (macOS) or Tubevra (Linux), keeping the bundled files together. Data stays in the normal user profile.

GitHub Actions

The Build workflow runs only manually. Once the workflow is on the repository's default branch, open Actions → Build → Run workflow, select a branch and start the build. Pushes, pull requests and tags do not start builds.

Each run builds all five targets from the table above. Download the packages from Artifacts on the workflow run page; they are grouped by platform and architecture and retained for 14 days. Windows ARM64 is packaged on a Windows x64 runner; Linux ARM64 uses a native ARM64 runner.

No signing secrets are required. macOS Universal contains both Intel and Apple Silicon binaries. Ad-hoc signing runs after merging the architectures, without an Apple Developer ID certificate or notarization. The workflow verifies both architectures and the ad-hoc signature. It uploads build artifacts only; it does not publish GitHub Releases.

Ad-hoc macOS builds retain Hardened Runtime and allow JIT compilation, but disable Library Validation because ad-hoc signatures have no Team ID. The workflow checks these entitlements on the app and its helpers. Remove the Library Validation exception when switching to Developer ID signing.

Privacy

Tubevra stores your settings and YouTube session in a local profile. The Privacy Policy explains what stays on your device, what YouTube and optional SponsorBlock and Return YouTube Dislike receive, and how to remove your local data.

Thanks

Inspired by TizenTube & TizenTube Cobalt. See third-party notices.

License

GPL-3.0-only.

An independent project, not affiliated with Google or YouTube.

Created mainly for educational purposes.